Disclaimer: The world of youkai/hanyou is credited to Rumiko Takahashi who created Inuyasha from which myself and the artist have used for the basis of the characters within this story. Am-Heh is the sole property of his creator, InuIrusa-chan. All others have been invented on a whim and are forthwith mine to torment, maim and generally toss into mayhem. Proceed with caution.

The picture that started this all can be found on InuIrusa-chan's DA account.

Vindicate – to free from a charge of wrongdoing; to give evidence to the truth or factualness of

Vindication

Chapter 1

The city of Cairo was a thriving metropolis that was adapting well to the changes of time, yet preserving its past as well. Home to over twenty museums representing a multitude of cultures that interacted or entwined with Egypt over the centuries, it was the first place any archeologist headed for. It was a good starting point to apply for funding for a dig, though chances are you were shot down before you even had a chance to set up a meeting with the curators. Egypt was teeming with antiquities, both found and sought, but knowing which ones would garner favor and interest, got you a foot in the door. For most people such a pursuit took a level of dedication that quickly diminished after years of having a door slammed in one's face. For Am-Heh, such dedication came naturally and he had plenty of it. Then again, doors opened for him when he came to call. He knew his history, knew when something was more valuable to a collector than to a museum.

He had no problems 'raiding' tombs and sites, knowing that while the act itself was wrong, the end result was better than what could have happened if left in the possession of others. At least the artifacts he saved would be well-kept under lock and key. There were less than ten collectors he kept in good relations with. He knew their tastes and their desires, but they knew he didn't go hunting for trifles on some whim. He was Cairo-born and raised and his loyalty was to his homeland. But when he had been contacted by his most frequent collector, Luna, she had dangled the proverbial golden fruit before him and had him agreeing to her wishes before he knew he had done it. Luna was employed by the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in the Department of Acquisitions and was therefore his best lead on good sites to dig. Looking back, he still would have agreed to the dig. It was an opportunity unlike any other and he'd be damned if he let some fool idiot get a shot first, except he needed funding this time. He didn't make gobs of cash doing what he did, and what he did make, most went towards foundations and organizations in need of it more than he. He had enough to live on and then some, and that was fine by him.

But this dig… this time he wouldn't be able to just sneak around, youkai or not. He wasn't stupid. There were other youkai and hanyou working the sites in Luxor and they wouldn't hesitate to turn him in either. So he needed backing, and who better to ask than the crème of the crop? This way he was ensured a pass into the sites and the museum was guaranteed the finding of the century. Or so Luna assured him. He would skin the feline youkai if she had played him false on this deal. That was why he preferred dealing with humans. They didn't know he was youkai, but that wonderful thing called gut instinct made them think twice about lying to him, plus a lie was easier to sniff out on them.

He glanced at the clock for the third time since being shown to the meeting room and frowned. The curator was already twenty minutes late and he had made a point of showing up thirty minutes early for his appointment. Then again, he had made the appointment under his true name Am-Heh, rather than under the pseudonym he used when he had artifacts delivered – Anubis. He smirked at the irony; a jackal youkai using the name of a jackal God for an alias. Then again, his own name was that of another Egyptian God, one far darker than Anubis, but less known. He was rather glad of that obscurity, but had begun to wonder if the curator was late because he or she was trying to decide if the person requesting the meeting was serious.

"I apologize for the delay, sir."

Am-Heh turned in the chair, giving the balding, plump man a quick once over and deciding that either this guy was being a decoy, or he had been living a rather cushy life. "Apology noted. You've had a chance to look over my request?"

"Yes, yes. A very thorough investigation, but you seem to be lacking any real facts. It's all hypothesis and suggestion. We can't…"

"That's all any dig is in the beginning," Am-Heh cut in. "A shot in the dark. I can't list my sources, but I know it's there if you just give me the chance to prove it."

"There is already a team excavating near there and will most likely have reached the site within the next two years."

"Two years?" Am-Heh exclaimed. "Do you know what could happen to the site in two years? Grave robbers aside, the elements alone could erode it away or it could even collapse. Are you willing… is Cairo willing to take that chance?"

"IF it is there and in tact after all these millennia, then another two years will be of little consequence."

Am-Heh barely contained a snarl as he rapidly pushed back the chair and stood. It was blatantly obvious that this was simply a toady of the curator's, sent to dismiss him and his projected dig plans. He didn't even bother with a response as he stomped out of the room and stormed out of the museum. Of all the idiotic excuses! If that was the case, then he was going to have to resort to doing things like always. He would have preferred having the backing of the Cairo Museum, but this was the chance of a lifetime. If he could pull this off, maybe, just maybe he could finally get some honest credit and put his Archeological degree to work. But first, he had to prove that he had found the resting place of Nefertiti.

He was still fuming by the time he reached his studio flat on the outskirts of Cairo. He may love his home, but the progress of the years took its toll and his nose couldn't withstand months of daily inhalation of various fumes, so he had moved out of the heart of the city. The slam of the front door echoed off the walls, causing a few frames to sway and eliciting a startled cry from his two flatmates and partners. Wisely, neither male opted to say anything to Am-Heh as he strode through the living room and to the room at the end of the hall. Both knew better than to disturb him in there.

"Well I'll be buggered. Think he got shot down?"

"Oi! Be a bit louder, why dontcha?"

"Oops."

"Bleedin' Christ, Harvey, don't you ever think first, or do you like the taste of leather?"

"Fuck off, James."

Am-Heh tuned them out once he shut the door. He tossed the portfolio he had put together for his meeting onto the drawing table and dropped into the chair before it. He was irate at the museum's lack of concern, but he really hadn't expected much from them in the first place. He had high hopes that the prestigious Cairo Museum had not fallen like so many others, to cater to the whims of a committee and the desires of a pocketbook. But this had hurt more than he was willing to admit. The search for the true tomb of the second most infamous Queen of Egypt had become his life's work, as was evidenced by the two walls covered with maps, notes, newspaper articles, photographs and the like from the last sixty years.

He was quite literally going to go back to the drawing board. He picked up the stereo remote and turned on the CD player to disc three. Over the years he ad heard just about every genre of music possible, learning which annoyed the shit out of him and which he never got tired of hearing. He learned what inspired and motivated him, and what could help calm him when he was irritable. His roommates had once tried to rib him for the CD currently playing, seeing as what movie the soundtrack was from. He could care less that it was an animated movie and aimed at the younger kids. It was the music he wanted, the music that was the closest replication to that of his home that he had ever found. Listening to it in the streets was all well and good, but it was the same songs every day played by the same poor musicians using it to make a buck. There was nothing repetitive in this soundtrack except perhaps the eerie quality of one woman's voice in a couple of the songs, but it was to be expected since the women of Egypt once sang like that, and sometimes still did if you were lucky enough to catch one singing.

The haunting lullaby theme from "The Prince of Egypt" played softly, soothing his combined anger and hurt, paving the way for creativity to flow. By the end of the song he was ready to tackle the first obstacle – getting in to the dig. It actually wouldn't be too difficult, considering he had managed to get himself and his partners onto other sites in the past. The main problem stemmed from not knowing the exact location, thereby not knowing which team was currently working the dig. With a frown he crossed over to the enlarged map of the Necropolis, studying the layout of the tombs with those connected in some way to Nefertiti. He instantly ruled out Tutenkhamen's tomb. Primarily because it had already been excavated repeatedly, not to mention it was too highly trafficked and guarded. There was a reason Nefertiti's body was missing and her tomb incomplete. Whoever had been responsible for doing such a thing wouldn't have left clues out in the open.

Digging up a scrap of paper from the organized mess of a desk, he hastily scribbled down three tombs that showed possibilities and wrote down another two that he would need to do a bit of research on first to determine if they were worth looking in to. Grinning, he flipped off the stereo and flung open the door, calling down the hall.

"Harvey! James!"

"We know!"

He stopped in the living room, a puzzled frown on his face. "How the hell would you know if I haven't told you yet?"

James chuckled. "Because it's always the same. You hide in that room; sometimes throw things, though this time you didn't."

"Which is remarkable really considering the state you came back in," Harvey added.

James glared at the human, who simply shrugged as if to say 'what'.

Am-Heh sighed. "Alright, so I get a bit repetitive."

"A bit?"

"Ok! A lot! Sheesh."

"Well if you two are finished…"

"Stuff it, Harvey!" The pair hollered in unison. For his sake Harvey shut up and attempted to look put out, which was rather pitiful.

"Now then," Am-Heh began.

"To the Library!"

Am-Heh gave the pair a withering look and a long sigh. Maybe he was getting rather predictable. Invariably he ended up at the library any time he was following a new lead just to make sure it was authentic, or like now, to do a bit of research to prevent heading in blindly.

"Umm, why exactly are we going this time? I thought you had the location already?"

"I do Harvey, but apparently there's already a crew in the vicinity. We need to find alternate routes and locations until that crew leaves. There's a few tombs near there, but I'm not sure if they've already been completely excavated."

Pushing up his glasses, Harvey nodded and went about collecting his things for the library expedition. He was a studious notetaker and more than once his notes had saved Am-Heh and James a lot of digging and hours of searching. James usually tagged along for lack of anything better to do besides get himself in trouble by flirting with the wrong woman. Sometimes he was lucky enough to find something useful in a random book he picked up. Altogether they made a rather unimpressive and unprofessional trio, but Am-Heh wouldn't work with anyone else. And he'd proven it by turning down Luna's offer of a 'proper' team of youkai. If he was going to make the biggest discovery in history, he would be damned if he had to share it with anyone but the two friends who had been with and put up with him for years.